Smiling at him as if that were a good thing, Charlee took a deep breath. Maybe the fact that Hector had just promised never to kiss her again was the last thing she thought she’d ever ask him to do, but deep inside, she knew it was the smart thing. The tingly feeling she got just from being around him and knowing that he felt something for her too made it feel all the more impossible that she’d ever give up hope for more. Any more kisses from him would certainly have her clinging to something that he already said wasn’t happening.

Hector’s own forced smile suddenly disappeared, and he looked at her suspiciously. “Since we’re in agreement now that this guy’s a douche you shouldn’t be associating with, can you tell me now what question he was gonna answer for you later? Maybe that’s why his dumb ass is still creeping around trying to run into you so he can answer it for you.”

Charlee had to think about it. She wasn’t sure what he was talking about and then it came to her. “He mentioned wanting me to give him another chance.”

Hector’s entire face went rigid and his brows pinched. “A chance for what?”

Shrugging, she responded. “That’s exactly what my question was just before you got there. He never got a chance to tell me.”

“And he never will,” Hector said very seriously.

She stared at him for a moment but decided not to argue. Clearly after seeing the way Hector kissed her today and judging from his reaction to Ross around her in the past, there was no way Ross could still think there was any chance of anything with her. Charlee didn’t think she’d have to worry about Ross still wanting to answer that question.

Finally able to tear herself away from his those eyes, Charlee made her way up the stairs, feeling drained. Going back home for a few days—weeks maybe—to regain a little of the willpower she now felt completely devoid of, was beginning to sound like a really good idea because even after her little speech to him, if he so much as asked to kiss her one last time, she’d be in his arms in a heartbeat.

~*~

Drew was a f**king genius. This plan of hers was not only working out, it was happening a lot faster than Hector had expected. He’d gotten the text from Drew Saturday night. She told him to plant the seed as soon as possible. Get it in Walter’s head that Natalie was interested in him.

In hindsight, Hector felt a little stupid now that he hadn’t noticed what Drew said was so pathetically obvious, and she couldn’t believe he’d never noticed how lovesick Natalie was. Drew even gave him specifics he could point out that even Hector couldn’t believe he’d missed. Like how when Natalie made Walter a sandwich, she was very meticulous about making it just the way he liked it right down to the extra pepperoncinis and choice of bread—seven grain.

Hector had noticed but didn’t think anything of it, even when Walter mentioned she always got it right. Drew pointed out that Walter hadn’t asked for his sandwich made in any particular way but apparently Natalie had made note of his preferences. She also mentioned how Natalie would laugh at all of Walter’s jokes, no matter how lame they were. But most notably, Drew said there was no hiding how impressed Natalie seemed with Walter’s level of intelligence. That she’d said was the clincher. Drew said she wasn’t being mean, but Walter had little else to impress this girl with, so it was huge that Natalie was already so taken by his intellect.

It amazed Hector that Drew had picked up on all this in one visit while he’d been there several times and never made anything out of any it. To his credit, he did think it odd that a young girl like Natalie would choose to work at an old folk’s home instead of a hospital or clinic with young staff like her. All the other nurses there were old and crabby-looking. They looked like they belonged there, but not Natalie; although, Hector never would’ve attributed it to having anything to do with wanting to be around Walter. He just thought it had something to do with the amount of money she might be getting paid being someone’s exclusive nurse.

Of course, Walter had been just as clueless as Hector when he told him. Sunday morning, when Walter had come in for his workout, Hector got right to it. The workout that morning was pretty much a wash because Walter had stopped so often to listen to Hector tell him everything he’d picked up on from Natalie in the past few weeks. Hector could kick himself now for not thinking of setting Walter up with anyone else sooner. The poor sap had been instantly excited about the prospect that someone was actually interested in him. Right there laid the real reason why Hector hadn’t thought of setting Walter up with anyone else. If he had to be honest, the idea that anyone would be interested in Walter had never crossed his mind. But Walter was making progress with his weight loss now. And the haircut and brow trimming had been huge improvements. The best thing about this was that none of that mattered with Natalie. Her attraction to him was obviously for what was on the inside, not the outside.

By Monday evening, Walter was already talking about going to the movies in a few days with Natalie. It didn’t surprise Hector that Walter said it had been her idea after Walter brought up wanting to see a new movie coming out that week. But it didn’t matter. The most important thing was he’d talked about Natalie the whole time and only once brought up Charlee. That was only to mention that she seemed a bit down at chess lab that day, prompting Hector to make an early visit to the lab that week.

He knew it was way too soon for it, but he hadn’t been able to restrain himself from kissing her, especially after seeing that shithead smiling and waiting for her. Already, he was marking what was his, and they weren’t even there yet. But after a week of Walter talking non-stop about his new love interest and the successful date to the movies with her, Hector was ready to go for it. He could hardly stand to be around Charlee anymore and hold back.